


A New Hope

by Punkie



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 23:05:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18353567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punkie/pseuds/Punkie
Summary: While fleeing from danger, a ship crashes into IO, and there are no survivors. A lone ghost makes the choice to bring the child of the family back, but she is now alone and has to face this unknown world on her own. She comes across a sour scientist by the name of Asher Mir, and the two form a bond that no one would expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> Just a note that I'm a bit out of date with the lore and some of my ideas for this plot might not fit canon nicely, so just be aware. If you read something and think, "Well, that doesn't fit with the canon storyline" just assume AU because I'm, out of the loop a bit. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

No hope. 

That was what they were thinking, but neither of them would say it. Not with Amala in the back, not where she could hear. The two pilots of this ship shared a knowing look with each other. 

It was a terrifying thing, knowing that the chance of getting out of this one alive was very slim. A feeling that couldn't quite be described, facing the idea of dying. 

They'd fled with no destination in mind, knowing that it didn't matter where they went, as long as they got out of where they were as quickly as possible. They were free of anyone who had tried to chase after them, but the ship was making a terrible sound, and the red indicator lights on the dash couldn't be ignored. 

In a spur of the moment thought, the mother pulled up a map, and it flickered as she tried to scan the area. No planet was particularly nearby, but the closest they would have even a chance of landing on was the small indicator on the map that pointed to Io. 

"We need to land. We need to try to, it's all we have." She said as she looked over at her husband. He looked at the map for a moment, wondering if they'd even make it to there. He looked back at her and nodded though, wasting no time in turning the ship in the direction of their landing point. 

The sounds the ship made only got louder the longer they flew, and they could feel that it was having a hard time. Even Amala, seated in the back and trying to keep calm, knew that they were in a terrible situation in which they all might not get our alive. 

They never landed. 

Instead, the ship stalled out as they prepped for landing, and came bellowing down with increasing acceleration, before it finally crashed into the surface of the moon.

A lone ghost. 

It found them, a mother who dragged her dead husbands body out of the burning pile of rubble, placing him next to the body of her daughter. 

She bled, burned, and didn't have much time if she was to be saved, but she didn't make any attempt to try and get away. Instead, she knelt over the bodies and sobbed, shaking their bodies as if trying to wake them, but knowing it was of no use. 

When the ghost approached, the woman looked onto it with shock, and when she realized it had the intent on blessing her with light, she quickly refused. 

"No! No, not me, please." She begged, looking onto it with agony. "If I were to live after this, I .. I don't think I'd want to. I've lost everything, after years of building a home, a family, I've lived out what I wanted my life to be, and I don't think I could bear living after losing it all." She spoke quickly, knowing her time was short. 

"Please, give it to my child. My daughter, she... she's young, but she hasn't even started her life yet! Let her live, let her be the one who gets to start over, she has so much more to live for than we ever would." She begged the ghost, kneeling over the bodies. 

The ghost in return hesitated. 

As a technicality, those who were ready to be guardians, to be heroes - these were the ones meant to be blessed with light, to continue forward and be given a second chance. 

This, however, did not feel like such a blessing. 

What kind of blessing would it be, after all, to give someone a second chance that doesn't want one? Cursing them to live when they'd much rather be dead from the pain they'd endured. 

And a child - there was no telling if she'd ever survive far passed this, if she'd grow to be the glorious guardian the blessing was meant to give her. 

There was uncertainty with this, but the ghost sensed that maybe it was placed in this particular situation for a reason, to make a choice, to make an exception. The mother and father had lived their lives, they'd done their deeds of life, but maybe this child had a purpose to live, a destiny to fulfill of her own that would be stolen away from her if she died in this crash now. 

The ghost made it's way over to where the child lay still, and the mother started crying harder, but she held a smile on her face. "Thank you... so much." She whispered. 

"What is her name?" it's light flickering brightly. The mother moved to lean her back against what used to be the ship; this would be her final resting place. She smiled at the ghost, looking down to where her daughter lay, one final time. 

"Her name is Amala." 

______________________________________________________________________________

A gasp for air. 

Amala coughed, slowly sitting up. Bright sunlight made her eyes burn, and she squinted as she took a look around. She was surrounded by the remains of her families old ship, all of it smoking a bit She looked around quickly, her eyes locking on the bodies of her parents. Running over to them, she tried to shake them awake, tried to see if they were still alive, but it was of no use. 

She stayed at the ship for awhile, fearful. She had no idea if anyone would come to save her, had no idea if it was dangerous to stray out, so she stayed put for awhile. There was a certain point she realized though, that no one was going to come for her, and it was now on her to figure this out. 

On her own.

This planet, though unfamiliar, was beautiful. It was bright, colorful, full of life and peaceful. Sometimes, she would come across strange looking creatures, but would keep herself at a far distance from them, unsure if they were bad or not. Nothing was familiar, she was all alone, and she had no idea where she was going or what she needed to do. She wondered if there was even anyone else here on this planet other than her, or if she was just doomed to be the only person here. 

She was getting tired, she was losing hope, she was ready to maybe just give up again. As she thought maybe this would be the case, she thought she heard something in the distance. A voice. 

When the ghost decided to bless this child with light, it had no idea what would come next for her, where she would go, if she'd even live very long. But it held onto a feeling that she had a purpose, a path to take that held meaning, a destiny of some sort to fulfill. 

She had no about any of this, but she now was going to take the first steps of that path, and begin that purpose she was meant to live for. 

Following the sound, she peeked around the corner of a rock, her eyes landing on an awoken who was yelling about something. He seemed irritated, though she couldn't quite make out what he was saying when he spoke. It was basically a bunch of rambling. 

She made her way a bit closer, carefully and keeping hidden, not even daring to peek out at him now. This was the only person she had seen so far, and it was stressful debating whether he'd be dangerous or not. So, she decided maybe she would just stick close by try and listen, try to decide what kind of person he was, before approaching. 

Little did she know, she wasn't as sneaky as she once thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Asher Mir.

At this very moment, he had multiple notebooks open and spread about in front of him. He took new notes, moved things around, flipped pages quickly to find what he was looking for as quickly as possible. He was frustrated, not finding the answers he wanted, and he felt like everything was taking far too long. He didn't have all the time in the world to spare, there was no telling how much longer her had before -

He pushed the thought away, shaking his head. Thinking like that would only waste even more time.

Instead, he continued flipping through pages, muttering things under his breath as he did so.

There wasn't much that could break him away from his thoughts when he was focused on doing this kind of work, but the sound of footsteps in the distance made him pause. He slowly looked up, his brows furrowing with a bit of confusion as he tried his hardest to hear it again. It was unusual for someone to be out here right now, especially sneaking around. If it was a guardian, he would hear them from miles away, but this was different.

Another shuffling sound.

He wasn't hearing things after all. Turning around, he saw nothing, but there were plenty of places to hide around here. Almost instinctively, one of his hands started forming void, preparing himself for an unwanted intruder. There was a moment where he waited, watching, seeing if whoever it was would pop out. There was only silence now though, which wasn't particularly reassuring to him.

"I know you're there, show yourself!" He spoke loudly, still watching the direction that he had heard

Still, there was only silence in return. He began to tense up more, feeling a strong sense of uneasiness. What kind of game were they trying to pull? Carefully, he reached to grab his sidearm, never taking his eyes away from the source of the sound. He didn't know what kind of trick they were playing at, but he'd be damned if he'd let them get the first shot. Lifting his weapon, he aimed carefully and stood still, watching intently for any sign of movement.

"This is your final warning. I know you're there, so it's no use in trying to hide. If you don't show yourself now, I'll come over there and shoot you myself." He spoke, his voice stern and irritated. Though he put on the front of being intimidating and angered, he was self aware of the slight shake in his hand as he held his readied weapon. He had no idea what kind of threat was hiding from him, and his paranoia made him wary.

There was a moment of hesitation, and Ashed swallowed as he prepared to make his way over to the other side of the boulder. However, finally there came the sound of movement as whoever was hiding decided to come out. He gripped his gun, ready to squeeze the trigger at whatever enemy could be coming out to attack.

"...I'm sorry! Please don't shoot me, I'm not dangerous. I'm alone, I don't even have a weapon!"

Asher froze, his eyes landing on the small figure that stepped out from their hiding place. A human child, clothes rugged and torn, fresh wounds on her skin, and a terrified expression that looked at him pleadingly. Quickly, he lowered his weapon, his jaw clenching tightly as he stared at her. He became overwhelmed with uneasiness, realizing that his own paranoia and fear had almost made him shoot a kid. She stood still, holding her hands up to show she wasn't dangerous, and he noticed the shake in her palms from her fear. Finally, he broke away from his initial shock to address the situation at hand. Frowning at her, his brows furrowed together as he shot her a disapproving look.

"What are you doing wandering by yourself out here? Don't you know how dangerous it is out here?" His tone was stern, but there was a brief flash of concern that passed his expression.

She swallowed, unable to find the words to say. It was obvious she was still terrified, and his irritated reaction wasn't helping her. Realizing this, Asher ran a hand through his hair and sighed, deciding this wasn't going to be a simple answer. It wasn't very likely this was some child who had gotten lost while playing outside, her current state implied to him that this was much deeper than that. Taking a step back he seated himself in a nearby chair, looking up at the child with a bit of a softer expression.

"Come on out, sit and talk with me. I'm not going to hurt you, so you don't have to look so terrified."

Hesitantly, she lowered her hands and took a couple of steps forward. Now able to see her more clearly, Asher eyed her up and down, taking in the extent of her wounds. She was in worse shape than he'd first thought, and for a moment he wondered just how long she'd been like this. She looked around nervously as she stepped toward him, and eventually decided to seat herself on the ground from a safe distance away from him.

"Go on now, tell me what's happened." He pressed once again after she settled in her spot. She blinked, looking up toward the guardian. Asher could see the gears turning in her head, as if she were trying to figure out how to begin.

"My name is Amala. I'm from Earth, and my home was attacked. My parents took me into their ship, and we tried to escape, but the ship was damaged pretty badly." She started, her voice quiet as she spoke. "They... wanted to find the nearest place to land, I think they thought maybe if we could land somewhere in time, the ship would last long enough for that to happen." As she retold her tale, her eyes wouldn't stay in one place. She glanced around nervously, avoiding eye contact with him, and she twiddled her shaking palms anxiously. Asher remained silent as she told her story, but his expression slowly shifted into concern. He knew where this story was going, and he was uneasy thinking about it.

"The ship didn't make it, and we ended up crashing here. I don't remember crashing, but I remember waking up next to the crashed ship." Finally, she turned to look at Asher directly when she spoke. "I was the only survivor." Her words were almost a whisper, and there was a slight crack in her voice. Looking at her, Asher could physically see the pained sorrow in her eyes as she spoke those words. The devastated emotions of losing everyone she knew, the pained guilt of being the only one to survive, it was all clear in her expression. Asher felt his stomach twist as he took all of this in. He despised the look she had on her face because to him, it was hauntingly familiar. He hated it because it reflected emotions he knew too well, emotions that even he wouldn't wish upon others.

"I've never been here, so I had no idea where to go. I just kind of... wandered for awhile, it seemed like there was no one here at all. But then I found you, and I thought it was good that I finally found another person here. I was going to just reveal myself, but then I wasn't sure if you were a bad guy, or maybe I wasn't suppose to be here and you'd chase me away, so I hid. I'm sorry if I bothered you, I can go if you don't want me here." She finally finished, looking at Asher with an apologetic expression.

Taking a deep breath, Asher placed a hand over his eyes and closed them tightly, at a complete loss of what to do. He wasn't fond of children, they were always too loud and obnoxious, always got in the way and were too much work. Even so, Amala was obviously hurt and alone, she had nowhere to go and no one to help. Despite not liking children and often being a bitter person, he wasn't going to turn away this child.

"Nonsense, what use would chasing you off be?" He finally spoke, moving his hand so he could look at her again. "Sending you off by yourself would be a certain death sentence. You were right to come here." He stood, walking to his storage to rummage for something to help with her wounds. When he found what he needed, he made his way back over to her carefully, kneeling so he could be at her level. She was visibly tense, eyes wide as he stood directly in front of her, and he lifted the bandages he'd found up to her eyes so she could see what he was intending to do. Blinking, Amala glanced at the bandages a moment before looking back at Asher again, understanding crossing her expression.

"You're in bad shape. I'm going to try and fix up some of those wounds, okay?" He tried speaking in a tone that wouldn't make her fearful, though he was never one for talking softly to people. After a moment of consideration, she nodded to give him approval to go ahead. He nodded in return, laying everything out in an organized way. Asher had patched up more people than he could count by now, but it was rare that he had such a fragile patient. He knew he'd have to try and be gentle and careful, because the fear was still present in her and he didn't want to chase her away. Reaching out, he grabbed her arm, looking at her a moment to be sure she was still okay. He felt her tense up and waited to continue. After a moment she began to relax, and so he began to clean up the cuts and scrapes on her arm.

Amala stayed silent while he tended to the wounds, her mind racing with thoughts. She was still nervous, but actually seeing that he was trying to help her was putting her a bit more at ease. Still, she didn't want to do or say anything that could set him off. There was a spark of curiosity in her though, about who this man was, what he was doing out here, and why he was helping her.

"What's your name?" She finally broke the silence. He paused his work for a brief moment when she asked.

"My name is Asher Mir." He offered his name, not looking up as he spoke. He could sense that she was curious about him, but likely was too nervous to ask anything more. "...I'm just a guardian conducting personal research on IO." He decided to add in after a moment, hoping that would be suffice for now. She blinked at him, nodding.

"That's a cool name. It's nice to meet you, Asher." She said politely, feeling slightly more at ease now that he'd introduced himself. Swallowing, she looked away from him as she felt a wave of emotion overcome her. He didn't know who she was, he obviously seemed like a busy person, and yet he was taking the time to help a stranger in need.

"...Uh...Thank you, for helping me, by the way." She stammered out a bit nervously, feeling extremely grateful for the one person out here that was willing to help. Though he didn't show it, Asher felt a wave of sorrow pass through him at the words. This child was an absolute tragedy, and she was still trying to be polite and show kindness. Though the thanks was short and shaky, he sensed the genuine appreciation in her. As he finished wrapping up one of the bandages, he finally looked up at her and nodded.

"Of course, Amala."

* * *

Once Asher had finally finished patching up her wounds the best he could, he took a moment to himself to think. IO was no place for children, and regardless of that fact he had no interest in keeping a child around. He was willing to help her out temporarily, but he knew he needed to figure out what to do with her next. Likely he'd have to give someone like Ikora a call to see about having her transferred to the city. It would be much safer for her there, and she'd likely be able to find a new family to take her in. 

Amala observed all of the bandages that Asher had put on her, and then directed her attention to all of his belongings. His research area, his makeshift home, her eyes wandered to everything he had in his little corner of IO with slight curiosity. He could see she was less tense, seemed a bit more comfortable, and was likely feeling a bit better now that her wounds were properly handled. There was a brief moment of comfort that passed over him, glad that he was able to help her relax a bit. 

Finally, Amala turned her attention toward Asher. She yawned, and suddenly it seemed like all of the exhaustion from her days of wandering had finally caught up to her. Up until this point, she was alone, in pain, and constantly on edge. It made it nearly impossible to sleep, but now she was finally in an area where she felt at least somewhat safe. Asher took notice to the exhaustion, and realized she likely hadn't gotten a good sleep in since she crashed. He raised a brow at her, giving her a knowing expression. 

"You need to sleep. You'll feel much better if you do, and it'll let your body rest so you can heal faster." He said as he stood from his seat, glancing over at his makeshift home. He only had one bed, there was never a need for any guest space around here. He realized he likely was going to have to use his chair for sleeping until she could get relocated to the city. Well, although this was rather inconvenient for Asher, when he looked back at Amala he knew that she would be needing a comfortable place for sleeping much more than he would. 

Lifting a hand, he pointed to the bed in the back. "You can sleep there. I'll be awake taking some notes, so you don't have to worry about any unexpected visitors." he reassured her. Amala glanced at the bed before turning back to Asher with a nod. She made her way over to the bed, yawning once more as she got herself comfortable.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked him as she settled in, sleepy eyes landing on him as he pulled books off of one of his shelves. 

"Don't you worry about that. Just go to sleep." He said simply, not looking up from his task. Amala wasn't going to try and press it further, and it wasn't too long until she drifted off to sleep. 

Asher opened an empty page to one of his books and began writing some things down. After some time, he turned to look at the sleeping child, his expression softening a bit. This was likely the best sleep she'd gotten in awhile, and he was glad that it was under his watch. Really, there was a piece of him that was glad she was here in general as opposed to being wandering alone in IO. These kind of tragedies happened often, and part of Asher felt that saving one life was pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. However, for some reason it felt like saving this one had some kind of meaning. 

 

 

 


End file.
